Pricing your gym: a 5-step framework

Most gym owners price their plans the same way: they look at the competitor down the street, undercut by ₹200, and call it strategy. There's a better way, and it doesn't require a finance background.

Step 1: Calculate your fixed cost per member-month

Add up everything you pay every month regardless of how many members walk through the door — rent, utilities, equipment loan EMIs, salaries, software, marketing baseline. Divide by your active member count. This is your floor. You cannot price below this and expect to stay in business.

Step 2: Add a margin you can defend

A healthy gym runs on a 30-40% gross margin. If your fixed cost per member-month is ₹1,200, you should be charging at least ₹1,800. Anything less and you're hoping for volume to bail you out. Volume rarely does.

Step 3: Build three tiers, not five

We've seen gyms with 8 different membership tiers. They all underperform gyms with three. The reason: choice paralysis is real, and your front desk staff cannot accurately recommend between 8 options.

Three tiers — Standard, Plus, and Pro — is the sweet spot. Make the middle tier the most attractive (40-50% of revenue should come from it) and let the high tier sell itself to your serious members.

Step 4: Discount on commitment, not on price

If a member wants a discount, the discount should buy you something in return. Annual prepay buys you cash flow. Bring-a-friend buys you marketing. Quarterly auto-debit buys you reduced collections. Don't give discounts that buy you nothing — those are just markdowns.

Step 5: Re-price every 12 months

India's inflation is 5-6% a year. If you're holding prices flat, you're losing margin every quarter. Re-price annually. Communicate it three months in advance. Most members will renew anyway.

The free spreadsheet

We built a calculator that takes your numbers and outputs the three-tier structure that maximizes revenue without driving down retention. It's free for any gym to use, whether you're on Kasratbook or not.